Until My Heart Breaks
by Whispering-until-Daylight
Summary: Shadow and Sonic had been dating in secret for nearly a year. For once everything in Shadow's life seemed to be perfect, until an old enemy returns with a vengeance. And now it seems that Sonic has joined the dark side. How will Mobius survive now that their hero is their enemy? How can Shadow possibly fight against the one he loves? (Sonadow with hints of Mephonic)
1. Chapter 1

**My second story for FanFiction!**

 **This first chapter is more or less a preview for what is to come in this story! This will certainly be the shortest chapter I publish for this story. I promise more is to come!**

 **I'm writing this story to practice both fluff/romance writing and battle scene writing, so expect tons of that.**

 **xx Whisper**

 **Chapter 1: Preview**

The blue hedgehog was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his cheeks. Struggling to catch his breath, the hedgehog rolled over so his stomach was smashed against the grassy ground and his face was buried into his arms.

"It is not that funny," the red-striped hedgehog retorted. Despite his best efforts to sound serious however, the ebony one couldn't help the smile forming on his muzzle. He lightly pushed on the shoulder of his companion, who had rolled so hard that he was practically laying on top of Shadow now.

Sonic poked his head up from his arms, water streaks clearly visible on his face. His emerald eyes were wide and bright, his mouth was in the shape of a ridiculous grin. Shadow felt a heat rise up in his chest as he tried to resist the urge to kiss the blue idiot right then and there.

"I cannot believe that you used to wear dresses and high heels!" Sonic managed to get out between wheezes. Shadow playfully huffed and pushed the other's shoulder once more.

"You make it sound like I did this all the time. Maria was my only role model when I was on the ARK, so there was a time or two where I borrowed some of her clothing while she was not around." Shadow defended, rolling his eyes as the blue hero settled down and wiped his tears away.

"You know, I bet you'd look pretty good in human clothes," Sonic teased. He buried his chin in his arms so that only the corner of his smirk was visible. His eyelids partially closed to produce a mock flirtatious expression.

Shadow laughed. "Don't get your hopes up. I don't love you that much, _faker_." Now it was Shadow's turn to smirk as Sonic put on a fake pout.

Neither of the hedgehogs spoke for a while as Sonic began to participate in his favorite pastime – poking Shadow's chest fur and twirling the white strands around his finger. This little tick used to drive Shadow insane at the start of their relationship, but after eleven months of putting up with it, the ebony hedgehog finally got used to it. And though he would never confess it to Sonic, he actually started to find the gesture a bit soothing.

Shadow scanned the vast landscape that laid out before the two hedgehogs. From their place on top of the hill, Shadow could see for miles, and it seemed like there was an infinite span of hills and valleys that went on forever, all the way to the sunrise … Not a single sound could be heard, except for the wind through the grass and the beating of two hearts.

"We should live out here," Shadow eventually spoke. "The two of us, away from it all. Where we could actually be together like this, without the others seeing us."

Sonic snorted, not removing his eyes from Shadow's chest fur. "As if they wouldn't be curious why we both vanished at the same time? I thought the point was the keep our relationship discrete."

Shadow shrugged. "We wouldn't have to vanish. You could still visit them during holidays and birthdays. Run over every time they need our help saving the world."

"Oh, so you mean like once every week?" Sarcasm was dripping from Sonic's voice, though both hedgehogs quietly snorted at how true the comment was.

"Still, imagine being able to move out of the city … Living where it is quiet, peaceful, calm – perhaps I could finally start that garden I've mentioned before. Perhaps I could even try to give you swimming lessons in the nearby lake." Shadow added the last sentence with a teasing grin present on his face. He eyed the hero next to him as Sonic moved his hands away from Shadow's chest and let out a loud grunt.

"Ha, I don't love you that much, _faker_ …"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Shadow tried to cling to these memories as he stared at the horrors in front of him. Though the hedgehog was safely standing miles away on a hill top, he could still see everything.

Fire reaching higher than mountains, smoke transforming the blue sky into a dark grey, and screaming emerging from every angle. The entire area looked more like a torch than the proud city it was only hours before. And at the center of it all, was a tiny speck standing amongst the chaos and destruction. Shadow did not need to take a second look, the bright blue color of the dot alone gave away the identity of the individual.

Sonic.

Except it was not Sonic. It couldn't be. How could Sonic – _his_ Sonic, who laughed at him and teased him only months before – have become this? How could the Hero of Mobius turn into one of the worst villains Mobius has ever seen – the bringer of pain and the creator of fear?

Shadow squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to erase the thoughts coming into his head. No, this was not Sonic. At least it was not the same Sonic that existed in his memories, the one he had fallen in love with. Shadow knew the truth about the hero, his partner, and he must keep reminding himself of it. Now was not the time to get distracted or be weak.

The city was in danger. The world was in danger. And Shadow knew what he needed to do to save it.

But damn it if the Ultimate Lifeform didn't feel his heart break at the thought of actually doing it …


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome Home

**Chapter 2: Welcome Back**

 _Three months earlier …_

 _Tap-tap-tap … tap-tap-tap … tap-tap-tap …_

Shadow kept a steady rhythm as he touched his fingers against the chill surface of the break room table. The half-empty cup of coffee the hedgehog had was now cold, but Shadow hardly cared. He didn't even need coffee anyway, caffeine did nothing for him. As far as he was concerned, the drink was just another way to pass the time.

He glanced towards the clock. It had only been fifteen minutes … Lovely. Who knows how much longer he'd have to sit around doing nothing?

G.U.N. was usually pretty darn good at keeping its agents busy – particularly Shadow and Rouge, who were by far the most skilled. Shadow didn't necessarily care for the missions he was sent on, but at least they gave him something to do with his time. On the rare occasions where the Commander didn't have a task for the chaos being, Shadow was left to his own devices – which pretty much consisted of Shadow sitting around and waiting for something interesting to happen. He guessed that was one of the benefits of being a super-powered chaotic space being living in a world constantly under threat of being taken over by a robot-crazed genius: it never took too long for something interesting to happen. But, Shadow had been hanging around G.U.N.'s headquarters for at least four hours now, and still nothing even mildly amusing was going on.

Shadow sighed heavily and picked up the cup of coffee. He took a slow sip of the cold liquid. Cold coffee was absolutely disgusting, and Shadow scrunched his face into a scowl as he placed the cup back down. It was during times like these that his long-time teammate and perhaps only true friend Rouge would suggest that the hedgehog get a hobby to help fill his limited, but very boring, free time. The only problem was that very few things on Mobius truly interested Shadow. Rouge tried several times to take Shadow out to clubs and bars in order to have him 'lighten up and have fun', but such activities were more annoying than anything else to the hedgehog and eventually Rouge gave up trying once she discovered that Shadow was incapable of getting drunk. Shadow had taught himself how to cook and how to repair his motorcycle, but those felt more like choirs rather than something he would do for fun. There was a time when Rouge even recruited some of the members from Sonic's friend group to introduce Shadow to various hobbies, such as having Tails teach Shadow how to play video games and having Amy take Shadow out to the mall to get him to try shopping (though Shadow is now thoroughly convinced that Rouge only set up that last one in order to encourage Shadow to talk to girls …). Regardless of their efforts, however, Shadow simply was not entertained by most things that the city and Mobius in general had to offer.

Well, with the exception of gardening …

As unlikely as it sounds, the ebony hedgehog actually found that he really loved botany and caring for the plants on Mobius. When Shadow was on the ARK, there was no plant life. Everything around him was metallic and lifeless. But, he still remembers the way Maria used to talk about the life on Earth. She would go on and on about all the different flowers she remembered and even promised that she would open a flower shop once she returned to the world … Shadow was so bent on revenge when he arrived on Earth, that he never took the time to appreciate the nature that existed there. But now that he was on Mobius, he could finally understand what got Maria so excited. Having grown up surrounded by a cold, unfeeling metal space station, Shadow was reasonably amazed by the idea of living amongst the green, lively, and beautiful presence of nature. Though, unfortunately, gardening was the one hobby that Shadow could never reasonably pursue. His frequent G.U.N. missions would make it impossible for the hedgehog to give consistent and meaningful care to a fragile plant.

For now, the only plant Shadow owned was one given to him by Sonic. Without realizing it, a smile crept onto the ebony one's muzzle. He could still remember the day he told the blue hero about his passion for botany. He expected Sonic to laugh at him for having such a 'soft side', but instead …

 _"Hey, that's awesome!"_

 _Shadow perked his ears up and stared at the hero in disbelief. That was not the response he was anticipating. Usually Sonic was quick to tease him every time he revealed his … well, more sentimental side._

 _"This planet is beautiful, I can see why you'd want to study the natural life on it! Take it from somebody who has seen his fair share of alien worlds and alternate dimensions – there's nothing prettier than what Mother Nature has to offer!" Sonic lifted his head in the air and tucked his arms behind his head as he walked. He looked like he was sniffing the air, almost as if he was taking in the scent of the life that surrounded them as they continued their journey through the forest._

 _Shadow cocked his head, but hummed in agreement nonetheless._

 _"Have you ever considered growing a few of your own plants sometime?" The hero asked. "I could help you find a good piece of land. You could grow whatever you liked." Sonic shot a smile at his companion, though Shadow merely shrugged._

 _"I had certainly thought about it before," he responded, his face returning to its usual resting frown. "Though I don't imagine I'd be able to properly take care of it while working for G.U.N."_

 _Sonic groaned and let his arms fall so his hands were resting on his hips. "Those guys sure do find ways to keep you busy, don't they …?" He paused for a moment, though simply by his facial features alone Shadow could tell an idea was forming in that impulsive brain of his. "Ha-ah!" He finally declared, causing both hedgehogs to stop in their tracks. "I got to go real quick! Meet me at your place in ten! Don't be late!"_

 _Before Shadow could even respond, Sonic vanished in a blue blur off towards the city. The ebony hedgehog merely groaned before he too took off in a flash, racing behind his partner._

 _Shadow, unsurprisingly, reached his home within a matter of a few minutes. He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground and glanced down at his communicator which showed him the time. Shadow lived outside the hub of the city, close enough where he could reach the downtown area in a minute, but far enough away that he wouldn't be bothered by the crowds or noise. He imagined that Sonic had travelled into the city to work out whatever plan he had conjured up, though Shadow was slightly confused on what was taking him so long. But, just like that, a streak of blue could be seen in the distance and it was racing towards Shadow fast. The blue blur slowed down significantly as it approached its destination, and soon the form of Sonic was standing in front of Shadow and he was holding … a mini cactus?_

 _Sonic beamed brightly as he held out a small plastic holder that held a miniature cactus inside. The plant was small enough that it could be held with one hand, and Shadow could tell that the cactus was still in its earlier stages of growth. Shadow looked between the plant and the one offering it, a frown still on his face._

 _"Well, aren't you going to take it or am I going to have to stand here all day?" Sonic asked teasingly as he began to thump his foot on the ground._

 _"What is this, faker?" Shadow responded dryly, though his voice was not as cold as it usually was – it was hard for Shadow to keep his tough persona while around Sonic, one of the side effects of having dated the cobalt speedster for nearly three months now._

 _"Umm, I'm pretty sure it's a cactus? I thought you were supposed to be good at plant science." Sonic grinned widely at his own humor before continuing. "More importantly though, this is your new housemate. You said you couldn't grow a full garden due to your agent work, but I think I found a loophole. This little plant is one hardy guy, so he should be able to keep up even when you're away for a while on a mission. He only needs to be watered once a week, maybe even less than that if it comes to it. Cacti also live for years, so you don't have to worry about constantly replacing him."_

 _Shadow moved his eyes between the plant and the hedgehog about fifty times before finally locking his crimson eyes with Sonic's emerald ones._

 _"Thank you…" was all Shadow added as he took the cactus from Sonic's hand. And Sonic developed the most ridiculous grin on his face._

Shadow let out another sigh, his eyes fixated on his distorted reflection that showed on the table surface. He wouldn't be this bored if Sonic had been around, but unfortunately the hero was almost always as busy as Shadow was. At the moment, the speedster was off with his young fox inventor friend as they were attempting to track down a Chaos Emerald that had appeared in the northern regions. It had been several days since they had left and there was no telling when they would return.

Just then, the door to the breakroom opened, breaking Shadow out of his thoughts. In walked a familiar white bat, whose hips swung as she walked. She held her head high with such confidence and only shifted her gaze so she could lock eyes with Shadow.

"I thought I'd find you in here. Is Mr. Sunshine enjoying his day off?" She asked, placing her finger against her lips as if she didn't already know the answer to her own question.

Shadow rolled his eyes and rested his head against his hand which was propped up by his elbow. "What do you need, Rouge?"

"Nothing, hun!" The bat placed her hands against her hips. "You know, it's actually normal for friends to want to talk to each other every now and then. Not everything needs an alternative motive."

"Everything you do has an alternative motive," Shadow responded passively. He mindlessly picked up his cup of coffee again and took another sip. His face once again scrunched at the unpleasant cold liquid. He needed to dump out this cup before he accidently took another sip …

"Hmph," the female replied. "Such little trust you have in me still … I just came to make small talk. You know, I'm just as bored as you during the days I don't have work to do." The bat made her way to the small kitchenette that was in the corner of the breakroom and pulled a cup from the top shelf. Shadow didn't bother to turn to face her, but he could hear her pressing the buttons on the coffee maker. "Want me to fill you a new cup?" she asked.

Shadow exhaled loudly and pushed his near empty cup to the edge of the table. "Sure," was all he said.

"You know," Rouge said as she grabbed Shadow's cup from the table and returned to the kitchenette. "I heard that Big Blue and his little buddy returned from their mission about an hour ago. I wonder if they got ahold of that beautiful Chaos Emerald."

Shadow's ears stood up straight at the sound of his boyfriend's name. So, that's why the bat wanted to find Shadow … Rouge may not know that Shadow and Sonic had been secretly seeing each other for the last few months, but she was definitely clever enough to figure out that something was up between the two of them. The two hedgehogs kept up the appearance that they were rivals in public, but Rouge was a better detective than even Shadow had predicted and quickly realized that Shadow was closer to Sonic than he let show. Because of this, the bat took pleasure in mentioning Sonic's name around her fellow agent whenever possible in order to watch him squirm and attempt to keep his façade.

"Hmm." Shadow tried to keep his tone as emotionless as possible, though he felt his heart skip a beat. "If they did successfully bring back the emerald, then that would make six, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, I believe so," Rouge responded. Shadow could hear the liquid pouring out of the coffee maker and into their cups. "Three would be with Sonic and his friends, one is with you, one is on Angel Island with Knuckles, and the last one …" Rouge walked over to the table with two cups of coffee in her hand, placing one in front of Shadow "… is still in Eggman's fortress, unfortunately. The last one still hasn't been found yet, though I was thinking of doing some snooping today now that I have the free time to see if I find anything out."

Shadow nodded slowly and took a sip of his new coffee. The warm beverage was more bearable than its cold counterpart, though it still didn't do anything for Shadow. Rouge sat down across from her teammate and eyed him carefully.

"You sure that the emeralds were what you really wanted to know about, though?" the bat examined Shadow closely to read any sign into how he would react, but he had gotten fairly good at hiding any hints as to what he was thinking.

"The fox and the hedgehog got back in one piece, didn't they? That's all I need to know about them. Any additional information is worthless to me," Shadow stated. With that, Shadow stood up and picked up his coffee. He took one more long sip before setting the cup near the sink. He took one last glance at Rouge, who was still trying to read his body language, before exiting the room and leaving G.U.N.'s base altogether.

As soon as Shadow got at least two blocks away from the headquarters, he pulled his Chaos Emerald out from his quills and mumbled a quick 'Chaos Control!' under his breath. In a bright flash, he disappeared and quickly reemerged on a hilltop that was miles away from the city. He glanced around and soon spotted the person he was looking for leaning against a tree only a few yards away. Sonic opened his eyes and smirked at the new visitor.

" 'Bout time you showed up," the speedster said. "I was wondering how long it would take you to hear about my return."

"Heh, you're lucky that I have the day off," Shadow scoffed. "There was a chance I wouldn't have been able to come at all." Shadow walked closer to his companion until they were practically touching noses. He placed his hands on the other's waist. Sonic lowered his eyelids, but never moved his eyes from Shadow's gaze. Now that they were standing this close, Shadow could feel the chaos energy radiating off the hedgehog, and he was certain that Sonic could feel his own energy. Shadow breathed it in, though this time something felt a bit … off?

The darker hedgehog shook away the feeling and whispered gently. "How was the emerald hunt?"

Sonic laughed lightly, though it was clearly a laugh of frustration rather than amusement. "A waste of time. A whole lot of nothin' happened." Shadow cocked his head and folded his ears back.

"You didn't find the emerald?" He asked quietly. Sonic shook his head.

"No, no luck. Once we got close to Frozen Forest, Tails' plane began to have some difficulties. We had to do an emergency landing just to avoid crashing. After searching around a little bit on foot, though, the chaos signature that Tails had been tracking just … vanished. Almost like the emerald had disappeared. There was nothing for us to do then besides fix up the plane and head on back here."

Shadow hummed curiously. So that meant there were actually two emeralds still missing … Though Shadow was finding it hard to focus on his thoughts right now or even his boyfriend. That little feeling of 'off-ness' about Sonic's chaos energy was beginning to take over his senses. Normally, chaos energy made Shadow feel great – it provided him with the power he needed to survive, and being exposed to it energized him and made him stronger. This was usually why Shadow felt so much more secure while around Sonic, since their energies strengthened each other. But for some reason, there was a slight hint of another feeling emerging from Sonic's energy … Something that made Shadow feel nauseous almost. It was only a faint feeling, but enough to alert Shadow's senses to the fact that something was definitely not right.

"What's the matter, Shads? Do I smell bad or something?" Shadow broke out of his trance at the other's question. He hadn't realized that he had started to make a disgusted face while staring at Sonic.

Shadow quickly removed his hands from Sonic's waist, causing the blue hedgehog to glance down before locking eye contact with Shadow again. "No, no," Shadow finally replied. "It's just … Did something happen while you were at Frozen Forest?"

Sonic cocked his head at the question, his eyes squinting in confusion. "No … Like I said, it was just a whole bunch of nothing."

"Your chaos energy. There is something about it that seems … different." Shadow looked over the hedgehog up and down. That horrid feeling still made his stomach turn and Shadow was tempted to take a step back just to get away from it.

"Hm?" Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I did use some of my energy to keep Tails and I warm while we were travelling around in the cold. I didn't think it was a big deal, though maybe that started messing with my system or something?"

Shadow lowered his brows. That explanation didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. Utilizing your own energy to radiate more body heat shouldn't cause this to happen. But, it seems like Sonic was in good condition in all other senses, so perhaps this is a temporary concern.

"Now," Sonic placed his gloved finger under Shadow's chin and lifted up his face so their noses where touching again. Shadow felt a light blush come to his muzzle. "I'd love to stay around and chit-chat more with my favorite 'hog, but I actually promised Amy I'd go see her once I got back."

Shadow scoffed. "You realize that going on these 'dates' with her will only make it harder for her to move on once she finds out that you're, well, not interested in her type?"

Sonic moaned and pushed his hand through his quills. Beyond not knowing that Shadow and Sonic were a couple, hardly anybody knew about Sonic's sexuality either. The only two who knew were Shadow and Tails, and the only reason Tails knew was because Sonic and he practically grew up together and thus Tails was around during the time Sonic even figured it out for himself. The little fox was understanding and highly supportive, so it wasn't ever an issue, but Sonic made him swear that he would never tell another soul. The only reason Sonic never told Tails about him and Shadow was because the fox could be rather protective of his older brother and Shadow knew that the fox kid never fully trusted him.

"This isn't a date though, it's just two friends getting together to have fun." Shadow rolled his eyes at Sonic's response. "Besides, Amy is actually a pretty open-minded person if you ever gave her a chance," Sonic continued. "She just has a lot of passion."

"Sure, but if her 'passion' results in a giant pink hammer crashing down on my head, then I'm blaming you," Shadow snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic tossed his hands up as he moved away from Shadow and started walking in the direction of the city. "Look, I gotta run. Catch you later, Shads." And with that, Sonic once again disappeared in a gust of blue wind.

Shadow watched as the blue streak raced towards the small speck of a city that could be seen in the distance. The agent breathed out heavily. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Sonic … Whatever was wrong with his energy signature, it wasn't normal. He could only hope that he could figure out what it was before it could cause any harm.

 **Ahhh, I'm on a role with writing! I think I've updated three times this week, which is something I didn't expect!**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Please, please feel free to leave reviews! I love hearing your guys' opinions and suggestions!**

 **xx Whisper**


	3. Chapter 3: A Familiar Face

**Chapter 3: A Familiar Face**

"Rouge! Status report!"

"I'm still searching! Wherever this emerald is, it certainly doesn't want to be found…"

Shadow growled at his wrist communicator and returned his arm back to his side. In one smooth motion, he leaped into the air and roundhouse kicked another flying beetle bot into the side of the building, causing the robot to smash into a thousand pieces. As soon as his feet hit the ground again, he launched himself into the air and leaped off the heads of beetle bot after beetle bot, each one bursting under the force of his jump. His wrist communicator buzzed again, Rouge's voice remerging.

"How are you holding up on your end, hun?"

Shadow swiftly brought his communicator near his muzzle. Before he could speak, however, he caught the shadow of another blasted Eggman bot creeping up behind him. Shadow snarled. He twisted himself around and used the momentum to launch his fist directly into the robot's chest. The robot soared backwards before smashing into the building wall. Shadow returned his wrist to its location by his muzzle.

"Fine. But, hurry it up in there! Eggman must be sending more bots by the minute."

The ebony agent heard Rouge's muffled laugh from the other side of the speaker. "I'm almost flattered that he thought little old us was worth all this effort. Too bad it still won't be enough to keep me away from a Chaos Emerald."

"Just tell me when you find it," was all Shadow said in response as he pulled his arm away from his face once again. The chaos being took off once more and quickly took out five more robots without stopping. Though just as he got through that wave of robots, another wave appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. Clearly, Eggman was more determined than ever to find this emerald before the G.U.N. agents did.

It was only this morning that a news report was released stating that there was a strange occurrence that had happened in the western neighborhood of a nearby city. When a construction crew showed up to take down an old apartment building that was set to be demolished, their equipment began to experience major difficulties and weird energy seemed to be pulsing from the worn metal structure. Though this instance puzzled the city folk, Rouge instantly recognized it as a Chaos Emerald and thus her and Shadow were sent by G.U.N. to retrieve it. It seemed as if Eggman must have reached the same conclusion, Shadow thought as he punted another flying bot across the parking lot.

Shadow's current task was to prevent as many bots from entering the old apartment building as possible so that Rouge would have time to search out the emerald, though he was rapidly becoming frustrated with the amount of time it was taking. Shadow would be the last person to give somebody undue praise, so he was being serious when he considered Rouge to be one of the most talented treasure hunters. However, usually it didn't take her this long to find something …

"I think I found my problem," Rouge's voice sounded from the communicator again, almost as if she had read her partner's mind. "Though it's going to be a messy fix… Come to the lobby."

The ebony agent merely grunted as a reply and raced off as a red streak. He ran straight through several robots - causing each one to fall over - before entering the main door to the building. His eyes instantly locked onto the white bat who was sitting on the lobby desk with her legs crossed. She raised her hand and gave a small wave to her partner.

"Hey, stripes," Rouge said as she pushed herself off the desk and walked towards the hedgehog. "So it turns out, the reason this emerald is so hard to find is because it isn't in the building, but under it." At this, Rouge formed a slight pout on her face and hummed sadly. "Unfortunately, I can't break through these concrete floors. Think you could help a girl out?"

Shadow glanced behind him at the swarm of Eggman bots who were preparing to blast through the front door. He turned back to Rouge. "Get back, I'll have to make this quick."

Rouge nodded and jumped back behind a stone pillar that was offering the building support. "Just aim for the center of the room. That should be perfect," she added, her eyes also taking note of the robots about to storm the lobby.

With that, Shadow leaped into the air and threw his arm backwards.

"Chaos Spear!" He shouted, and immediately chaos energy began to swarm around his hand before taking the shape of a golden spear. Shadow aimed himself towards the center of the room before launching the spear downwards. A loud blast was heard and dust filled the room. By the time the dust cloud settled and Shadow landed securely on the ground, he saw that there was a series of smashed robots near the lobby entrance. Most likely effected by the force of the blast …

He looked over towards Rouge, who blinked her eyes open before moving out from behind the pillar. The bat glanced around with a smug look on her face.

"Impressive. Remind me to never get on your bad side," the bat added as she walked towards the newly formed hole in the center of the lobby. In the center of all the smashed concrete and torn rug was a newly exposed layer of dirt that had just been beneath the surface of the lobby. This time, Shadow stood back as Rouge leaped into the air and spun herself around like a tornado. Swiftly, the treasure hunter fell towards the ground, her twirling kick supplying enough force to dig a several foot hole in the dirt patch. Suddenly, bright blue light began to emit from the newly formed hole. Rouge landed right next to her handiwork and peaked inside.

"Ah-ha!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She reached into the ground and tried to grip onto the Chaos Emerald when—

 _BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA_

Blackish purple mist rocketed out of the crater, pushing Rouge backwards and causing her to let out a shriek.

"Watch out!" Shadow shouted as he leaped forward, scooping Rouge up into his arms and sliding a safe distance away from the mist that poured out of the ground. Shadow set Rouge down next to him, though neither agent removed their eyes from the scene in front of them.

The dark matter stayed close to the ground before abruptly launching upwards and spinning in the air like a whirlwind. Rouge shrieked and covered her ears and even Shadow grimaced as the wind picked up and that horrid, horrid laughter filled the air.

 _WHOOOOOSH_

With a loud burst of wind, the mist dispersed to the far reaches of the room before dissipating into nothing. Both agents had to close their eyes to protect themselves from the suspicious smoke, though when their eyes opened they witnessed the sight that was left behind after the mist had cleared.

A strange hedgehog floated above the crater, the dark blue Chaos Emerald hovering above his left hand. Shadow did not recognize the face, though even the sight of this figure made his quills flare and caused his heart to race. That face … It had no nose nor mouth. This figure's fur—if you could call it that—was black, and was patterned in an uncannily similar way to Shadow's own pelt. Though this foreign figure almost looked like he had been frozen, as his quills were covered in rough blue extensions. The figure laughed once more, sending another chill down Shadow's spine. Who was he? Why did he seem so familiar …?

"Oh, how odd fate is. Had I known that I would have run into you again so soon, Shadow, I would have prepared a better welcome." The stranger's voice was low and slow. Shadow raised an eyebrow in confusion, though only further upped his guard.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Shadow growled out. He had such an awful feeling about this guy. He was tempted to rush into a spin dash and knock him out of the sky right now, though held himself back.

"Ah, I nearly forgot. That blue pest and his little princess friend altered the timeline when they blew out the flame of Solaris." The stranger replied, yet his words didn't seem to make any sense to the two listening. Shadow was certain that, if this creature had a mouth, he would have smirked.

"What is he talking about …?" Rouge murmured quietly, most likely speaking more to herself than to anybody else.

"Here," the dark figure continued. "Let me give you all a little reminder …"

Upon speaking these words, the figure raised his left hand in the air, the Chaos Emerald hovering even higher than it was before. The precious gem began to rotate and shake, almost as if it was about to explode with energy. Shadow instinctually took a defensive stance by sticking his arm out in front of Rouge, whereas the bat took several cautious steps backwards. Shadow used his other arm to begin forming a chaos spear, just in case, though it soon became clear that even his spears would not help. The Chaos Emerald abruptly stopped spinning and rapidly waves of bright blue energy began to pulse out of the gem.

"Urrrrggggg," Shadow snarled as he bent down and covered his head. He could hear Rouge let out her own groan as she did the same. As the blue waves washed over the two's heads, they surprisingly didn't experience any pain at all – in fact, the pulsing was almost soothing in a way. But, nearly instantly after the waves passed, Shadow's mind began to race, causing him to grip his head tightly.

Images began to flash in rapid fire through Shadow's mind. Almost like he was watching an entire episode of his life play out, though it was one he never remembered happening.

He saw a city, a festival, something to do with fire and their sun good – Solaris, the named popped into his head. And there was Eggman up to his usual antics and he could see himself going save Rouge – why? It was because she found an item – a scepter. The scepter of darkness. There was that silver hedgehog – Silver, that was it. And there was time travel, the Iblis Trigger, the collapsing of time, Sonic dying … Sonic, Sonic, Sonic. He died, Shadow could see it now. He saw the blue hedgehog on the ground while that girl held him and cried over him. But, then, the Seven Chaos Emeralds, they found those and they resurrected Sonic. Then, he was Super Sonic. And he was Super Shadow, and that Silver fellow, he went super too. Shadow saw it all – the final fight, they defeated that wicked villain … Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark.

He remembered it all.

But how was he remembering something that never even happened?

Unless …

 _'That blue pest and his little princess friend altered the timeline …'_ Altered the timeline? So, all of that actually did happen? But Sonic went back and changed time to stop it all?

Shadow lifted his head and glared at the dark figure that remained in the center of the room who was beginning to break into another laughing fit. This was Mephiles. Shadow gulped in an attempt to prevent himself from hissing. The one thing Shadow still didn't understand was, if Mephiles was from an erased timeline, then how was he here now?

"How'd you get here? I thought we erased you for good," Rouge shouted out, capturing Shadow's attention. So, she had the same flashbacks as well it seems.

Mephiles fell silent and wagged his finger in the air, mockingly scolding the female. "Tsk, a true master must never reveal his secrets … Now, for as long as I have waited to return and take my revenge on you and your putrid _friends_ " – Mephiles strained the last word, almost like it made him sick to say it – "I actually have more important business to attend to. I thank you for finding the first emerald for me, but now I have the others to collect."

"No, you don't!" Shadow barked out as he charged forward. He couldn't contain himself anymore, rage filled his system. He swiftly shifted into a spin dash and launched himself towards Mephiles. But, it was all for not, because after his final words, Mephiles soon dissipated into a cloud of purplish black smoke. The mist spread to the edges of the room and quickly crept its way through the cracks in the windows and the doors. Shadow merely cut through the cloud and landed on his feet on the other side of the room. He snarled and watched as the remainders of Mephiles vanished from view.

"You okay?" Rouge called out from where she stood, though her eyes also drifted to watch Mephiles disappear. Shadow merely nodded, not bothering to look at her. He could feel his quills tighten against his head as his body tensed. Shadow crossed his arms and breathed heavily to calm himself down. Mephiles ... His memories were becoming more clear now. That twisted monster is the same one who tried to convince Shadow that the world would turn against him, that he needed to join Mephiles in order to seek revenge. However, Shadow saw through Mephiles then, he knew that the villain only cared about one thing - destruction. Shadow exhaled loudly. How could Mephiles be back again?

Rouge flew over and landed next to her companion. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting my day to go this poorly," she began, a light smile on her lips. Shadow could tell she was only trying to lighten up the situation amongst all the confusion, though he was hardly listening. Shadow could only focus on the alternative memories that were still circling around his thoughts. Namely, the one memory that haunted him deeply … Sonic's death. It was true that the hedgehog was revived shortly after in that timeline, but it still shook Shadow to the core. Shadow could not remember what he felt at the time in this altered timeline, though he could only assume that it tore him up. He sighed once more and shrugged his shoulders to ease his spines' grip against his head.

"I can't believe I'm empty handed and a freak demon-hog just returned from who-knows-where. How do you think he escaped his erased timeline anyway?" Rouge continued, oblivious to her partner's mental crisis – or perhaps she was attempting to distract him from his own mind. In the latter case, Shadow eagerly accepted the opportunity to think about anything else than the new memories flooding his mind.

Shadow huffed and crossed his arms. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter now. If Mephiles is back and after the Chaos Emeralds, then that means the world is in great danger. We cannot waste time, let's get back to G.U.N."

Rouge nodded. "Just say the words and we're gone, hun!"

"Chaos Control!" Shadow bellowed, not wasting a moment. He grabbed onto Rouge's arm as the two vanished into a puff of light.

In an instant, the two reemerged in the break room of the G.U.N. base. Rouge stretched out her wings and gave a few flaps in order to shake off the dirt that had accumulated on them during their time at the apartment building.

"We should track down the Commander and tell him the news," she added. Shadow hummed in agreement.

"And we need to warn Sonic and the others as well. Mephiles is an enemy that needs to be stopped as soon as possible," Shadow stated, his mind briefly returning to the visions Mephiles revealed to them. He wondered if only Rouge and he regained their memories from the erased timeline, or if the others were effected as well. How could they even explain who Mephiles was if the others didn't remember? Heck, could Shadow even trust the visions that Mephiles had showed them anyway? Mephiles certainly seemed like the type who would give a person false memories in order to trick them.

Since Shadow's mind was wandering deeper into his own thoughts, he didn't even see the smirk that emerged on Rouge's lips. The bat looked like she was about to make a witty comment of sorts, but before she could get a word out, her wrist communicator began to buzz. The noise snapped Shadow out of his trance and both agents focused their eyes on the device. Rouge raised an eye ridge and gave her wrist a confused glance.

"Hello?" Rouge said, raising her communicator near her mouth.

"Rouge? Oh good! Is Shadow with you?" a high-pitched and youthful voice came out of the speaker. Rouge flashed an amused glance over at Shadow whereas the hedgehog looked unimpressed, both recognized the voice nearly immediately. Besides, there was only one kid intelligent enough to hack into a military communication frequency.

"He is. But, Tails, cutie, how did you manage to contact my communicator?" Rouge asked.

"And, more importantly, why did you?" Shadow added dryly.

From the other side, they could hear Tails giggle lightly and Shadow could just picture him grinning brightly and rubbing his nose – a habit the fox picked up from Sonic.

"Well, reaching out to the communicator was no problem! G.U.N.'s communication network was a breeze to access!" Tails boomed. His voice then gradually became more serious as he continued speaking. "The reason I tried to reach out to you two is because, well, I'm not sure how to explain it … but did you guys perhaps … have some weird daydream a little while ago?"

The two agents exchanged surprised glances before they returned their gaze to the communicator. Shadow supposed that answers his earlier question, Mephiles' memory restoration must have reached more people than just Rouge and himself.

"Those visions involving Mephiles?" Shadow asked, earning a surprised gasp from the fox.

"Yes, that's it! It was so odd! I was with Amy and Knuckles when it happened and we all got those weird visions at the same time! I couldn't figure out what happened, it was almost as if I was remembering something that never occurred! As soon as I found that Amy and Knuckles had the same experience, I wanted to reach out to everybody else I recalled seeing in this vision to see if they saw the same thing."

"Yeah, it definitely hit us too. Look, Tails, we got a lot to talk about," Rouge responded, her voice serious and direct. Tails didn't respond, which Shadow took to mean that he was listening closely. "How about you and your friends come down to G.U.N. HQ so we can talk some things over?" Rouge continued.

"O-okay!" Tails replied promptly, though his anxiety was beginning to show through his voice.

"And make sure to find Sonic and bring him along," Shadow added before his female teammate had time to hang up the call. The thoughts of Sonic's death flashed back into Shadow's mind, nearly making the dark hedgehog wince. Though the two must not have been a couple during the events of that timeline, and though Shadow had no confirmation about the truthfulness of any of those events he saw, he still could not stop thinking about it. The blue hero was always so full of life and energy, to watch him lay there on the ground, not moving a muscle – it was just spooky, it almost felt unreal. Shadow just needed to see Sonic again, to make sure he was okay.

"Will do!" the fox replied, earning a relieved sigh from Shadow. Rouge nodded and pressed a button on her communicator, silencing it. Shadow noted that she snuck a sly smile in his direction.

"So, you really care about having Big Blue be there, huh?" Rouge asked teasingly, raising an eye ridge in curiosity. Shadow shook his head and frowned deeply. Normally he would toss back a dismissing mark at his teammate's questioning, though he wasn't quite feeling up to it right now. There was too much to worry about for him to get bothered by Rouge's playful schemes. The bat must have taken the hint for she merely laughed and lightly hit his shoulder. "I'm just kidding. Let's go find the Commander and tell him what's up."

And with that, Rouge walked out of the break room. Shadow stayed behind for a moment, allowing his gaze to drift towards the window that was along the back wall. From there, he could see the blue sky which was barely visible between all the skyscrapers. Just when he thought everything was going alright in his life, of course that's when this Mephiles figure had to rise from the dead and bring chaos back to Mobius.

Shadow sighed heavily. Silently, he turned to face the door and followed after Rouge.

 **Sorry that this is a more boring chapter! I wanted to get another update out, because it had been a few days! I'm still working on the next chapter for my other story, The King of Hearts, so keep your eyes open for that.**

 **If the visions/flashback part of the chapter didn't make sense to you, then I recommend you read a summary of the Sonic 06 game. :)**

 **Also, quick question for my readers! c: What other Sonic couples would you guys be interested in having me write about other than sonadow? I am willing to write about practically any couple, so feel free to make suggestions xx**

 **Thanks again for reading! Double thanks to those of you who reviewed/favorited/followed!**

 **xx Whisper**


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